🔒UniBank working with Habitat for Humanity to help meet high demand for affordable homes

With Central Massachusetts construction costs on the rise and the region facing an unprecedented housing crunch, Whitinsville-based UniBank is working with Habitat for Humanity MetroWest/Greater Worcester to provide mortgages for residents looking to become homeowners.

The bank has so far provided three Worcester families with mortgages in partnership with the nonprofit this year, allowing residents to move into new homes and escape unaffordable or otherwise undesirable living situations. 

The firm’s involvement with Habitat for Humanity helps ensure UniBank gives back to the community, said UniBank CEO Michael Welch. The nonprofit helps people build self reliance by providing homes in a way to encourage fiscal responsibility.

“It's all about self respect, dignity, right, and the ability to fulfill their dreams,” Welch said. “As we struggle as a community with the ability for all to own a home, we found that working with Habitat is the best way for us to help.”

Prospective homeowners assist with the construction of the home, and then pay an affordable mortgage on a portion of the cost of the house, with fundraising covering the rest. Families must fall into 30-60% area median income and attend financial education classes, said Debbie Maruca Hoak, CEO of Habitat for Humanity MetroWest/Greater Worcester.

Mentioning Habitat for Humanity tends to invoke images of volunteers, the late President Jimmy Carter among the most famous of them, coming together to build a home. While those volunteer efforts are vital to the organization, what doesn’t get as much attention is the work Habitat’s homeowners put in, Hoak said.

“Our homeowner families contribute 300 hours of sweat equity, combined with education hours and then hands on building, working on their home or on other houses during the process as they're ready to purchase their home,” Hoak said. “The education hours help with budgeting, finance, home inspection, home maintenance and those sorts of things, to be successful homeowners in the long term. Then banks and other corporations help to fill the subsidy gap.”

UniBank’s efforts come amid a high level of demand for Habitat, Hoak said.

“At one point, people who were looking for affordable housing were really folks who were on the super low end of the income stream and facing a lot of challenges in a lot of areas in life,” she said. “Now, we're talking to school bus drivers. We're talking to pharmacy techs ... The people who are keeping our communities running aren't able to live in them.”

UniBank hopes to grow the partnership, Welch said. He said it is a win for everyone, including the local business community, which faces issues with retaining workers struggling with housing costs in the area.

“It's a win for Habitat, it’s a win for the families, and it’s a win for us as a community asset,” he said. “If we say we’re a mutual bank, then we have to live it, right?”

Hoak encouraged potential corporate partners to head to the organization’s website in order to find ways they can support the nonprofit’s efforts.

Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.